I had hoped to call my blog "The Dog's Breakfast," but that name was long since taken. But in that spirit "The Breakfast" offers a little of this and a little of that, not all of it pretty, some of it poorly chewed. These are papers, posts, stories, correspondence, musings, and links to ideas that interest or amuse me.

Anyway, I grabbed the iPad and the earbuds and watched Love cold. Very odd indeed. It's an independent film produced by a band called Angels and Airwaves on a shoe string budget that was not betrayed by its excellent production values.

...Thinking Clearly About Intimate Partner Violence, That Is.

On December 24, 2012 Wauwatosa Wisconsin Police Officer Jennifer Sebena was on duty, in uniform, operating a department squad car,responding to a dispatched call when she was attacked, disarmed, and shot dead with her service weapon. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund – who has it in their power to inscribe her name on their memorial to officers who have fallen in the line of duty – has decided Officer Sebena's name does not belong on their memorial wall because she was killed by her husband. Not recognizing an intimate partner homicide as a line of duty death sends a chilling and dangerous message to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. She was no less a cop and no less a murder victim simply because it was her husband who killed her. This is not an embarrassment the NLEOMF can sweep under the rug or find some way to ignore. This was the murder of a person, a citizen, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a public servant, and an on-duty law enforcement officer. One hopes public pressure will help the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund see the egregious errors in its thought process.

Refusing to recognize the murder of Wauwatosa Police Officer Jennifer Sebena as a line-of-duty death because it was an intimate partner homicide sends a chilling message to the victims and the perpetrators of domestic violence. She was no less a cop and no less a murder victim simply because it was her husband who killed her. This is not an embarrassment one sweeps under the rug or finds a way to ignore. This was the murder of a person, a citizen, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a public servant, and an on-duty law enforcement officer. I know you have promised to reconsider your poor decision next year, but “kicking the can down the road” will be seen for what it is, a craven attempt to delay admitting your mistake until you think no one is paying attention. I suspect by now you have noticed that everyone is paying attention and will not stop until your error in judgment is corrected. Acting promptly is the only way for NLEOMF to get out from under this unfortunate self-inflicted injury with your reputation intact. Please act today to grant Police Officer Jennifer Sebena what little respect you have to bestow upon her memory. Act now. Justice delayed is justice denied.

REUPDATE: Turns out the NLEOMF does have a comment tool at the bottom of their staff page. Here's the message I addressed to Craig Floyd, their Chairman and CEO:

Refusing to recognize the murder of Officer Jennifer Sebena as a line-of-duty death because it was an intimate partner homicide sends a chilling and dangerous message to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. Officer Sebena was no less a cop and no less a murder victim simply because it was her husband who killed her. This is not an embarrassment you can sweep under the rug or find a way to ignore. This was the murder of a person, a citizen, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a public servant, and an on-duty law enforcement officer. I know you have promised to reconsider your poor decision next year, but “kicking the can down the road” will be seen for what it is, a craven attempt to delay admitting your mistake until you think no one is paying attention. But the world is watching, and waiting. Acting promptly is the only way for the NLEOMF to get out from under this unfortunate self-inflicted injury with your reputation intact. Act today to grant Police Officer Jennifer Sebena what little honor is yours to bestow upon her memory.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The NLEOMF has decided to revisit their decision on April 3, 2013 instead of kicking the can down the road until 2014. They have corrected their sense of urgency but it remains to be seen whether or not they have corrected their antiquatedthinking. I hope the board finds a way to internalize the truth that being the victim of intimate partner violence is certainly horrible but it is not dishonorable.

The NLEOMF board appears to be mostly white (90%), mostly male (86%), and more or less middle-aged, so bustin' it old school may be only tool in their bag. I hope they are wise enough to bring in some experts to help raise their awareness around the pernicious problem of intimate partner violence. Or perhaps an infusion of diverse fresh talent is needed...